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Vikram Bhatt, wife Shwetambari Bhatt granted bail by Supreme Court in ₹30 crore cheating case
The Supreme Court granted regular bail to filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt in a fraud case involving large-scale misappropriation of funds.
Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt have been granted relief by the Supreme Court in a fraud case involving large-scale misappropriation of funds. The apex court has granted both of them regular bail. Earlier this week, the Court had granted interim bail to Shwetambari. On Thursday, the court allowed their appeal seeking regular bail, eventually granting relief to the couple.
What was the cheating case
The Bhatts had been booked in a case that was brought by an FIR lodged in Udaipur in November 2025. The complaint alleged that Vikram and Shwetambari Bhatt committed fraud linked to a film project.
Dr Ajay Murdia of Indira IVF filed the complaint at Udaipur's Bhupalpura police station. In the complaint, he said that he entered into an agreement with Vikram Bhatt's company for the production of films and documentaries in the memory of his late wife. However, the FIR stated that after the complainant paid a sum to Bhatt's company and signed a contract for the production of four films, the production house not only failed to deliver the films as per the agreement, but also misappropriated funds.
The FIR says that Vikram Bhatt allegedly promised that if Murdia financed an initial amount of ₹7 crore and provided further funding, they could produce four films for ₹47 crore.
However, Murdia claimed that after that, the accused siphoned off more than ₹30 crore by giving false assurances. The police say their investigations found that the accused used fake bills and documents to siphon off the funds.
The Bhatts were eventually arrested on December 7 by Udaipur Police.
Vikram Bhatt denies the allegations
Vikram Bhatt has denied the allegations, saying that the police are being misled. He also claimed he had not received any prior notice before learning about the FIR
Speaking to news agency ANI, Bhatt's lawyer Kamlesh Dave had alleged that the entire police action was taken "based only on the FIR and not documents".
"Every payment was made in the knowledge of both parties. There were no such fake or bogus bills. The agreement was done to make two films first and another two on rolling finance," he claimed.
The Rajasthan High Court rejected Vikram and Shwetambari's bail in January, leading to an appeal in the Supreme Court. Earlier, the High Court had also rejected a petition from Vikram Bhatt seeking the quashing of the FIR, contending that the dispute was of a civil nature, not criminal. But the court noted that since the case also involved misappropriation of funds apart from breach of trust, therefore, the police investigation will continue.
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